It takes quite a while to cross the Pacific Ocean – when Friedrich Karl. While Messerschmitt was sailing on an ocean liner in the endless expanse of the ocean, the situation in the world was changing rapidly, many things were happening, some were born, some were born and some saw God. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Of course, the deaths of the vast majority of people mean nothing to people other than their relatives, but there are also a very small number of people whose deaths are enough to affect a country. Among these people, one was called the Guangxu Emperor, and the second was feared by everyone as the "Empress Dowager Cixi" - the Manchu Empire lost first its nominal ruler and then its de facto ruler, less than a week apart.

From some's point of view, this is a tragedy, a loss for the Empire; However, from the perspective of others, it is a good sign and deserves a celebratory reception.

"Cheers, comrades!" Lan Tianwei raised her wine glass and was emotional, "Guangxu and Cixi are dead, and the great cause of recovering China has taken a big step forward......"

"Be quiet," Zhang Shao warned, "this is the heart of the Manchu regime, and any seemingly trivial mistake could ruin our career." ”

"That's right," Wu Luzhen nodded, "No matter what time it is, we need to be cautious and patient......"

"I know, I know." Lan Tianwei sighed—his two friends and comrades were now as cautious as that Lieutenant Colonel Yi, and of course, in a place like Beijing, caution was necessary, but not to lose the revolutionary passion—but he put down his glass, sat down, and expressed his protest in words only. "Now that I've calmed down, what else do you have to say?"

Opinion? Yes, of course, there is, albeit only one. Sun Shaozeng also put down his glass and reminded: "It's not the time to celebrate, that's my personal opinion – but it's also true, we still have a long way to go." Guangxu and Cixi died, but the Manchu government remained firmly under its rule, controlling the army. You know, Yuan Shikai's four divisions are right next to us. ”

"Yuan Shikai's four divisions are a threat." Wu Luzhen approvingly added, "And we can't guarantee that every officer and enlisted in the army will support us." ”

"It's just ......" Lan Tianwei didn't know what he should say - in fact, it was still the comment just now, they were too cautious.

Yes, Yuan Shikai had four divisions - last year, on the advice of Umbrella's military advisers, the Qing army units in the Zhili area were reorganized, and after a series of large-scale operations, Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army was reorganized into four divisions, and at the same time their forces were expanded into three separate infantry brigades - on the surface, four divisions against three brigades, the Beiyang Army had a clear advantage, but in reality, this was not the case.

In fact, no matter who it was, as long as his thinking ability was still at a normal level and he didn't know anything about modern military affairs, then he could see that their three independent infantry brigades were at least as powerful as them, if not more powerful than the four divisions of the Beiyang Army, although it was safe to say that they were actually more than a little bit stronger than Yuan Shikai's troops.

This is no joke; Although many people believe that it is just a joke, it is not, at least, Yuan Shikai does not think it is a joke.

However, in Lan Tianwei's eyes, this is the natural result: how can the military reforms implemented by Umbrella's military advisers benefit someone who is not planned? Therefore, the four divisions of the Beiyang New Army only had 40,000 men, while their three independent infantry brigades, each with 8,000 officers and soldiers, were trained more rigorously by military advisers, and some of the officers received short-term training at the Zhanjiang branch of the Virginia Military Academy, and they were well-equipped, equipped with machine guns nearly four times that of the Beiyang Army, and mortars were 50 percent more than it, not to mention that the ammunition reserves and supply levels of the two field groups were also not at the same level.

Favoritism, this is naked partiality, but this is the case, although Yuan Shikai once lodged a strong protest with the Military Advisory Group and the Military Aircraft Department, used all means except resignation, and used his personal relationship with Rong Lu to carry out a lot of underground activities, the situation still did not change. Because it was very rare, Cixi and Guangxu actually agreed to support the special arrangement of military advisers.

Why not? All three of them were heroes in 1898, having protected the Empress Dowager and the Emperor as they traveled to Xi'an, stubbornly resisting the German Army that was trying to occupy Xi'an, and achieving an unprecedented victory, and their troops had inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese near Tianjin—although it was a battle commanded by Nie Shicheng—but what was Yuan Shikai doing during that dangerous and dangerous period? Yes, it is known that he was in Shandong, participated in the "South-East Mutual Insurance".

So, he still wants to get the support of Cixi and Guangxu? This was pure pipe dream, and in fact even Rong Lu was not completely on his side, and was willing to help him just to maintain political balance and ensure that the struggle would not be one-sided.

Although, in reality, the situation is one-sided.

Yuan Shikai could not get support, so he could only watch his troops become second-rate troops, and he had to do his best to establish good relations with the three rivals, hoping that through them, he could get some additional weapons and equipment from his military advisers. He was completely at a disadvantage, his troops were at a disadvantage, and if the two sides went to war, there was no chance of victory at all—but now, Sun Shaozeng and Wu Luzhen went so far as to say that his four divisions were a threat......

"Are you joking?" Lan Tianwei found that she could finally speak, "Everyone knows that Yuan Shikai's four divisions are not as good as our three brigades, what are you still worried about?" ”

Wu Luzhen shook her head. "Do you remember what Mr. Qin said in his last secret letter to us? The strategic level can despise the enemy, but the tactical level must value the enemy. ”

Lan Tianwei blinked. It seems that Qin Lang's secret letter does have this paragraph.

"And before, Mr. Qin also said," Zhang Shaozeng continued, "impulse is the devil." ”

Yes, he said it, and more than once.

"So, we can't celebrate yet, we have to be like a normal Manchu minister, with a bitter face, mourning for Guangxu and Cixi, just like this......" Zhang Shaozeng said, while really squeezing out a bitter gourd face as he said, and as a result, the other two were amused.

"I don't think any Manchu nobles and ministers really felt sad." Wu Luzhen said, "They have long wanted to get rid of the old woman who has been in power for nearly 40 years. As for Guangxu, since he already has a replacement, who else cares about him? ”

Guangxu's substitute, his half-brother, who had just returned to Beijing not long ago to marry Rong Lu's daughter Youlan. Zaifeng, now confirmed as the next emperor of the Qing Empire, had issued her perhaps penultimate order with astonishing perseverance before her death, and no one objected, for the young emperor had many supporters: his father and father-in-law, the generals of the Ronglu faction, the conservative ministers and the Westernists, the four Western powers, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and France, and, finally, Japan. From the very beginning, Zaifeng has been in an undefeated position, and even if there are really people who oppose it, no one will hear them.

"In recent decades, nothing like this has happened." Zhang Shao once said in a tone that was not just sarcastic, "Unprecedented unity." ”

"That's true." Lan Tianwei laughed, "It's a pity that this is just a foreshadowing for our career......"

"You mentioned our cause again." Wu Luzhen said angrily, "I thought we had reached a consensus on this issue. ”

"Okay, okay." What else could he say, except to raise his hands in surrender, "How about we change the subject?" ”

"I agree." Zhang Shaozeng nodded, "Now, there is at least one thing that is very urgent, and that is how to gain the trust and support of the new emperor." Our good relations with US military advisers and businesses can be used as a means of inducement, but not enough. And our second problem is that Mr. Qin didn't give us any advice. ”

"He wants us to try to be as independent as possible in strategizing, rather than always following his instructions." Lan Tianwei spread out her hand, and then asked, "What advice does Mr. Yi have?" ”

"Mr. Yi suggested that we start with his age." "He said that people who are close in age are more likely to feel close, but to do this, they need to increase their interactions with Zaifeng." Originally, I thought we would still have time to contact him, but now ......"

He sighed in disappointment. Both Zhang Shaozeng and Lan Tianwei understood what he meant: it was not easy for anyone in China to meet the emperor, even if he had not yet officially ascended the throne.

"Speaking of enthronement," as if suddenly remembered, Lan Tianwei asked, "Who knows when the enthronement ceremony will be held?" ”

"No one." The two shook their heads together, "It is said that the auxiliary ministers are still discussing. ”

"Oh, that's going to take some time." He commented. The auxiliary ministers arranged before Cixi's death—her last order, appointing Rong Lu, Shi Duo, Yi Xuan, Tie Liang, Liang Bi, Rong Qing, Lu Chuanlin, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, and Liu Kunyi, as auxiliary ministers—although they all supported Zaifeng, they were far from agreeing on other aspects, and there were contradictions of one kind or another with each other, so their discussions would definitely not end anytime soon. "I think we still have plenty of time."

"Time? What time? ”

"I have an idea," Lan Tianwei explained, "why don't we suggest that Zaifeng hold a grand enthronement parade?" In this way, we need time to prepare for it. ”

"The premise is that he and the Auxiliary Ministers agree to hold a military parade." Zhang Shao once asked rhetorically, "Will they agree?" ”

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not." Lan Tianwei didn't hide his thoughts, "But, at least we should take a gamble." ”

Zhang Shaozeng and Wu Luzhen exchanged glances. It must be said that they were a little tempted by the idea, and there is nothing else to do now.

"So be it," their voices lowered, "let's discuss the details......" (to be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )